Mark February 1, 2006 on your calendar as a special day – the birthday of SafeHaven of Tarrant County. During 2005, community leaders serving on the boards of The Women’s Shelter and Women’s Haven came together to discuss combining the two agencies. With similar missions, programs and goals, these leaders envisioned strengthening our ability to change lives devastated by domestic violence and improve systems that respond to them.
As talks progressed, they saw an opportunity to cast a net across Tarrant County making services available to all victims regardless of where they live or other factors that isolate them from help. With input from community leaders and staff members of both organizations, they inspired a new approach to service delivery. The Community Services Division will focus a variety of efforts on building strong networks with institutions across the County, especially law enforcement, schools, hospitals and churches. The network will develop multiple layers to reach the growing cultural and ethnic diversity in our area. They further envisioned one primary voice for victims of domestic violence in Tarrant County that can galvanize all communities around this critically important issue. That voice is SafeHaven.
The Women’s Shelter and Women’s Haven were both established and well respected organizations within Tarrant County. Women’s Haven was established in 1976 and began operating out of a small home in east Fort Worth. The Women’s Shelter was incorporated in 1978, serving primarily Arlington. Each organization has seen it’s share of changes in both services offered as well as the scope of services each was able to provide to victims of domestic violence. Together, as one, the two organizations are stronger and will provide more comprehensive services to victims of domestic violence throughout Tarrant County. We hope that you’ll join us in our efforts to reduce domestic violence, becoming an integral part of SafeHaven’s history in the making.
The two emergency shelter facilities have a 174 bed capacity and provides 24-hour care to families fleeing life-threatening situations. The shelters provide living quarters, meals, clothing, transportation, counseling, children’s recreational and therapeutic activities, medical and dental care, and case management.
In 2006, SafeHaven answered almost 44,000 hotline calls; sheltered 1,095 abused women and 1,624 children; provided 150,036 meals; 100,024 snacks; housed 128 clients through the agency’s transitional housing programs where stays range from 3 months to 2 years; and educated over 60,000 community members on domestic violence and shelter services.
Outreach services include: 24-hour bi-lingual crisis line; counseling and support groups for adults and children (English and Spanish); legal services; collaborative programs with 17 police departments in suburban areas; transitional housing for families exiting the shelter seeking self-sufficiency; and educational programs to adults, children, youth and professionals on prevention and intervention regarding abusive relationships.
